Ladakh gets administrative, police services; recruitment for 79 Group B posts soon

Leh/Jammu, Sep 10: The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the establishment of the Ladakh Administrative Service and the Ladakh Police Service, while recruitment for about 79 Group B posts across 15 departments will soon begin under the reservation rules applicable in the Union Territory, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra announced on Thursday.

“Fundamentally, the Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to the creation of the Ladakh Administrative Service and the Ladakh Police Service. The modalities will be worked out, and we will initiate the process shortly”, he told reporters here.

He added that Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had discussed with the Ministry the recruitment for the feeder cadre of the former state services.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has now issued the enabling notification for this as well. The draft recruitment rules for all 15 departments will now be sent to the Lieutenant Governor and thereafter to the UPSC, following which we will start the recruitment process,” he said.

The posts include assistant director, under secretary, deputy registrar cooperative societies, assistant director employment, excise and taxation officer, assistant director consumer affairs, assistant director handicrafts and handloom, functional manager industries, assistant labour commissioner, block development officer, tehsildar, district social welfare officer and assistant director tourism, among others.

“Young people of Ladakh will now start getting opportunities for recruitment to these posts,” Kundra said.

Regarding the violent incident on September 24, 2025, Kundra mentioned that a list of proposed cases for withdrawal would be sent to the lieutenant governor, and a draft proposal for compensation would also be submitted for consideration.

He discussed the conversion of Nautor (barren) land rights into ownership in Ladakh, stating that a notification has been issued. Kundra sought to clarify confusion surrounding the recently issued draft rules on Nautor land, explaining that the government has initiated a consultation process before finalising the rules.

He said thousands of people were affected by Nautor land provisions and were unable to monetise their holdings. The administration had earlier removed the requirement that holders of Nautor land obtain vigilance clearances, he said.

“Now, we are converting Nautor land rights, which were essentially leasehold tenancy rights, into ownership rights,” Kundra said.

Clarifying the role of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), he said that while the government holds the power to frame rules by law, the actual regularisation under these rules will be carried out by the elected Autonomous District Council.

“There will be no government interference in that process. Since the elected LAHDC has the authority over land, it will undertake the regularisation,” he said.

Kundra further said land belonging to religious, cultural and monastic institutions would be granted title free of cost under the proposed framework.

He said the administration was also considering exempting holdings of up to one acre from payment, with a graded formula proposed for larger holdings.

“If someone has up to one acre, there would be no charge. Beyond that, we would introduce a graded formula, for example, a certain amount for one to 10 acres, and another amount for 10 to 20 acres, so that small landholders do not face an excessive financial burden,” he said.

The chief secretary said the final rules had not yet been notified and people were free to submit suggestions, which would be considered as part of the consultation process.

Kundra said the lieutenant governor had also approved changes in land use, describing the Nautor land ownership and land-use framework as a “major game-changing decision”.

Once ownership rights are granted, landholders will be able to seek changes in land use for purposes such as constructing shops or resorts, subject to the applicable framework.

He said the measures would create a framework to monetise land, which he described as the “most valuable resource” in Ladakh, and would also help people who had been unable to secure bank loans against agricultural land.

Regarding recruitment, Kundra said 1,340 candidates had been recommended for appointment in different categories in 2026, including 24 in Group-B Gazetted, 418 in Group-B Non-Gazetted and 874 in Group-C posts.

Furthermore, 633 posts had already been advertised, and another 874 posts would be advertised, taking the overall recruitment and advertisement cycle to 1,504 posts.

This includes 331 constable positions and 40 posts for police sub-inspectors, he added.

He also mentioned that the administration had granted promotions to 716 employees who had been awaiting promotion for several years.

On the recruitment of doctors, Kundra announced that 125 doctors would be hired, with the UPSC forming two interview boards in Ladakh to spare candidates the inconvenience of travelling outside the Union Territory.

The UPSC boards would conduct interviews for doctors from September 21 to 25, after which the recruitment process would proceed, he said.–(PTI)